Creating Career Pathways for the Bioprocessing and Biofuels Industry

This project is creating career pathways for the bioprocessing and biofuels industry by bringing representatives of the community college, high schools, four-year colleges and bioprocessing and biofuels industry together. Eight industry-driven job guides and skill assessments developed with prior funds from the Department of Labor are providing the groundwork for the creation of twenty (20) career pathways in the following career areas: Laboratory Technicians, Quality Control/Quality Assurance, Process Control, Maintenance, and Engineering. The career pathways are being put into action by implementing new concurrent enrollment and articulation agreements between Indian Hills Community College (IHCC), three high schools, and three 4-year institutions. Formal internship agreements with industry partners are being developed. Eleven half-day professional development workshops and one (1) breakout session at IHCC's "Counselor's Day" event are being offered to educate academic advisors, high school counselors, teachers, and administrators on how to use the career pathways as tools for career counseling at the high school and community college level. Three IHCC instructors are being certified to teach Project Lead the Way courses in bioengineering and engineering at the high school level as concurrent enrollment. The deliverables and models for partnering that result from this project are applicable throughout the upper Midwest where these industries are flourishing, and the career pathways are being distributed to all interested high schools, community colleges, and 4-year institutions through a partnership with Bio-Link, an NSF ATE Resource Center, in an effort to help sustain this rapidly growing industry.